The Winners: Seven’s Australia’s Got Talent topped the night with 1.831 million viewers. MasterChef was second with the half hour episode at 7.30pm with 1.691 million and Today Tonight averaged 1.610 million at 6.30pm in 3rd. 4th was Ten’s Modern Family, still rock solid with 1.544 million viewers at 8pm. Seven News was 5th with 1.535 million and Ten’s NCIS was next with 1.517 million at 8.30pm. Nine News was 7th with 1.308 million, with A Current Affair next with 1.252 million. The 7pm repeat of Two and a Half Men averaged 1.245 million for Nine, Top Gear on Nine at 7.30pm averaged 1.170 million and Grey’s Anatomy had its best figures for weeks with 1.162 million from 9pm for Seven. 12th was Home and Away at 7pm with 1.133 million and the 7pm ABC News was 13th and the last million viewer program with 1.051 million.

The Losers: Apart from Australian Druglords on Nine at 9pm with 705,000 and Australian Families of Crime at 9.30pm with 761,000, it was a good night for viewers and programmers.

News & CA: Seven News and Today Tonight strung together another national win last night against again Nine News and ACA. Ten News averaged 986,000, the late News/Sports Tonight, 349,000. The 7.30 Report, 705,000, Foreign Correspondent at 8pm, 665,000. Lateline, 221,000, Lateline Business, 134,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 193,000, Insight at 7.30pm, a low 92,000. 7am Sunrise, 382,000, 7am Today, 322,000.

The Stats:

FTA: Seven won with a share of 33.0%, from Ten with 25.3%, Nine on 24.0%, the ABC with 14.1% and SBS on 3.6%. Seven won all five metro markets and now leads the week with a share of 29.5%, from Nine with 27.4%.

Main Channel: Seven won here as well with a share of 31.3%, from Ten on 24.8%, Nine with 22.1%, ABC 1 with 12.1% and SBS ONE with 3.2%. Seven won all metro markets and also leads the week with a share of 26.8% from Nine with 24.5% and Ten on 22.7%.

Digital: GO won with a share of 1.9%, from 7TWO with 1.8%, ABC 2, 1.4%, ABC 3, 0.6%, ONE, 0.5% and SBS TWO, 0.4%. That’s a total share of 6.6% for the six FTA digital channels, which is lower than the previous nights. GO leads the week with 2.9%, from 7TWO on 2.6%.

Pay TV: Seven with a share of 28.0%, from Ten with 21.4%, Nine on 20.3%, Pay TV, 13.0%, the ABC, 11.9% and SBS, 3.0%. The 11 FTA channels had a total share of 87.0%, the 100 plus Pay TV channels shared the 13.0%.

Regional: A win here for Prime/7Qld with 35.1% from WIN/NBN with 24.7%, SC Ten on 22.6%, the ABC, 13.1% and SBS, 4.6%. Prime/7Qld won the main channels with 33.4%, from WIN/NBN with 22.8% and SC Ten on 22.1%. GO won the digitals with 1.9%, from 7TWO with 1.7% and ABC 2, 1.2%. Prime/7Qld now lead the week with 29.9%, from WIN/NBN on 28.3%.

(All shares on the basis of combined overnight 6pm to midnight All People)

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Seven and Ten squeezed Nine last night in a now familiar Tuesday evening pincer movement, thanks to the first part of the final of Seven’s Australia’s Got Talent and Ten’s MasterChef/Modern Family/NCIS trio.

Head to head from 7.30pm to 8pm MasterChef topped Australia’s Got Talent on Seven in All people and the demos. Australia’s Got Talent surged ahead from 8pm onwards.

The highlight of the night for me was the episode of Foreign Correspondent at 8pm on the ABC. Good current affairs reporting. And two brave Japanese environmentalists and their families. The 7pm Project, 986,000 for Ten. No wonder Ten won the 16 to 39s and 18 to 49s last night, with MasterChef doing well. Australia’s Got Talent made sure Seven won All People and 25 to 54s..

TONIGHT: Crowded House is on Hey Hey it’s Saturday on Nine at 7.30pm, no doubt attracted by the nostalgia the band has for its early days back in the 1980s or thereabouts. Ten of course has MasterChef. The ABC has Spicks and Specks and Seven a curious mixture of a fresh episode of Border Security, but with doggies, at 7.30pm, Surf Patrol at 8pm and a program called Police Under Fire at 8.30pm. A real patchwork bit of programming. Just filling in the schedule until something else comes along after the second State of Origin next Wednesday night.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports